COVID-19’s impact on the nation’s mental health is apparent and will be apparent for years to come. Yet, even more concerning is the impact on children and adolescents. MHA’s 2020 screening data indicates the population most impacted by the covid-19 crisis were youth ages 11-17 years old. This age group scored positively for anxiety and depression more often and more severely than other age groups. Suicide and self-harm also increased significantly in 2020 in youth ages 11-17 years with more than 35 percent of youth reporting having thoughts of suicide more than half the days of the month. Feelings of isolation and loneliness crept up as the leading factor contributing to a person’s mental state at the time of the screening, followed by feelings related to a past trauma.
MHA has partnered with Kaiser Permanente to host discussions with the nation’s leading education and health experts to highlight key principles to inform policies and practices of reopening schools that will help youth early and through equitable means. By meeting children and adolescents where they spend most of their time, in school, MHA and its affiliates are helping to prevent mental health crises before stage four.
For more information and the full agenda, visit: https://mhanational.org/2021-p...health-needs-schools
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